Monday, November 29, 2004

Like most lefties, I'm generally in favor of labor unions. But their
history in this country is somewhat checkered, by everything from
Stalinist communism in the '30s to overt racism, particularly before,
when some unions were formed with an explicit goal being to preserve
jobs for whites and keep out the negroes who were starting to migrate
from the South.

Immigrants arrived in droves in relatively small
communities, making it impossible for residents to ignore their new
neighbors. Some 80 percent of Long Islanders own their homes, and
there are few rental apartments, so laborers are often crammed into
single-family homes.

And thanks to the island's relatively weak labor unions, they can
find work by standing on street corners, [Republican County rep Paul]
Tonna said.

It's nice to know Republicans finally see the value of labor
unions...